<p>Speaking of LL Bean, my recent college grad wears these shoes in the winter- [Comfort</a> Mocs: Slip-Ons at L.L.Bean](<a href=“Men’s Comfort Mocs | Casual at L.L.Bean”>Men’s Comfort Mocs | Casual at L.L.Bean) He’s not one who really cares what other people wear (so I don’t know if other college kids wore them) but I got these on sale at the end of the year a couple of years ago and he wore them all the time.</p>
<p>We get pretty much the same weather as Philadelphia, and for most of the winter, a pair of sneakers is fine. It is not really all that cold. In the cities, snow is cleared fairly quickly off sidewalks, it is the deep slush that can make your feet wet as it melts at corners. Of course, we would never wear flip flops in snow. Uggs are popular here, some of the girls wear them even in summer with shorts (not mine). My DH almost never wears boots in winter.</p>
<p>I used to marvel at the boys in college in central NYS (where it was really really cold) who wore no socks in winter and walked outside a lot. Oh those young people!</p>
<p>Philly native here- Some winters, there is lots of snow, others not too much. Sneakers should be fine -agree with wis 75 wait until Thanksgiving break- otherwise boots wil be taking valuable dorm space.</p>
<p>My son has gone without boots in Philadelphia and Chicago for the past 11 years. Sometimes his feet get cold. He hasn’t had any shoveling responsibilities recently. </p>
<p>I say let the kid find his own way. But for what it’s worth, interesteddad had a really good suggestion. Personally, I use medium-weight Gore-tex lined hiking boots for almost all my winter needs. I have a pair of waterproof classic L.L. Bean boots that I wear with multiple sock layers sometimes if I have to be in really deep snow, but that means maybe once or twice a year. At Penn, maybe there will be a day or two some years (and some years none) when the timing and intensity of a snowstorm is such that the walkways don’t get cleared before the kids start using them.</p>
<p>MOWC is completely correct that the much more annoying problem here is days when it is 35 degrees and raining. THAT is miserable.</p>
<p>Last year the east coast got tons of snow. Hopefully this year there will be less. I agree with others don’t buy anything until they ask for it. I’ve found out that it does not good to plan ahead with my college students.</p>
<p>Do boys wear Uggs in the Northeast? I know girls do but my D says that they are going out at her Northeastern school. But it could just be that she doesn’t like Uggs. She has a fur lined pair of dressy type boots but she says that they are too warm to wear at school. She got a pair of black rubber type rainboots that I ordered from Zappos. She loves them and plans on getting boot socks for them and wearing them in the snow and slush.</p>
<p>My D loves boots and has a bunch of them. Most (all!) of them are not meant to be worn in the snow and slush. She says that the trend is to wear them in the summer with your shorts and dresses (not Uggs). Apparently wearing shoes that we think are appropriate for the weather is not trendy anymore.</p>
<p>My S goes to school where they get lots and lots of snow. He wears hiking boots.</p>
<p>I love my Sorel’s. The kids would not be caught dead in them. I am so proud of my self. Mine are really old and made before Sorel was bought out and I think that they are warmer and better made than the one’s they make now. What I nerd I am lol!</p>
<p>Uggs are very popular with the girls but I admit I haven’t seen guys wearing them too much.
Most of the winter he will get by with his skater sneakers. until it snows but it might not snow.
My youngest goes to school in Baltimore and wears Uggs all winter. In her freshman year she wanted Wellies. She got some cool design from LL Bean and hardly wore them - then it snowed last winter. And snowed and snowed. 60" later she was out shoveling in her wellies and the other kids only had sneakers.</p>
<p>deb- I also have old Sorel’s. I like them, but they seem pretty massive. They are my Colorado winter shoes.</p>
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<p>He’ll have time to adjust. When he arrives in Philly, it’s actually likely to still be hot summer weather, unless he’s one with a really late start to his first semester/quarter/etc.</p>
<p>It will start to be jacket weather by the end of September. October and November are not likely to be very cold, unless there’s an early cold snap. But by mid-November he could easily have had to deal with multiple cold, wet rainy days. Days where it rains steadily all day long with no sun and with temps in the 40s or upper 30s. And in a normal winter, he’ll be dealing with this kind of weather off and on all winter until mid-to-late March or so. [Last winter was NOT normal!]</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, the most miserable weather known to humankind is pouring down rain with temps in the mid 30s and (just for fun) add in a wind blowing at around 20 mph.</p>
<p>Cold, dry snow is much easier to deal with.</p>
<p>Down the shore here, I do see some guys with uggs, especially surfers, but far more girls. Robinsuesanders describes the Philly weather perfectly. All that snow last winter got old, but it beats the endless cold wind and rain weather that is the norm for Eastern PA/NJ</p>
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<p>Thanks Bugmom! And that’s why I prefer Buffalo’s weather: Two years of mid-NJ winters were enough to last me a lifetime.</p>
<p>Oh, robinsue… (can I call you that for short?) you really brought back those dreadful winters in Philly when I was in high school. I walked a mile to the train, rode it to school, than a half mile to the school… and most winters I was wet and cold all the time. And the entire school smelled of wet wool.</p>